By Liz Turner
SGA

Being involved with the SGA is an opportunity to be a part of the change that’s happening at Berklee. Members have the opportunity to help organize and run student events, connect with the administration, represent Berklee students on and off campus, and be a part of a high-energy group of motivated Berklee students. SGA members are also asked to represent the students by sitting on Berklee committees with staff and faculty dealing with issues about classes, orientation, events, and how tuition dollars are spent.

Executive Vice President
Preside over SGA meetings if the President cannot be present. Keep us aligned with the SGA constitution. Act as Berklee Club Liaison and oversee Ambassadors and other non-exec SGA members.

VP of Communications
Responsible for communications between the SGA and the students. In charge of Facebook, Twitter, Campus Cruiser, Groove, etc. Should also be aware of promotional methods around campus.

Ambassadors
Ambassadors for instrumental and major departments act as liaisons between the students and faculty/chair(s) of their respective department. They are tasked with staying connected with the students within that department as well as moderate a Town Hall meeting each semester facilitating an open discussion between the students and the administration regarding their major or instrumental department.

Positions Available:
Music Business Ambassador
Film Scoring Ambassador
Pro Music Ambassador
Jazz Composition
MP&E Ambassador 
Voice Ambassador
Piano Ambassador
Bass Ambassador
Guitar Ambassador
Brass Ambassador
Woodwinds Ambassador
Percussion Ambassador
Strings Ambassador      

Elections will take place on Campus Cruiser on Thursday Feb 25, any students running for one of the listed positions must fill out an application in the Student Activities Center by Monday Feb 22 by 5:00PM to be in the elections.

Press Release Courtesy of Liz Turner
SGA

This week, the Student Government Association will be at the Mez table of 150, from Tuesday 1-2, Thursday 1-2, Friday 1-2. Student Government wants to hear from you on what you like about Berklee, and what we can do to make Berklee a better place. This week will also launch the SGA Suggestion Boxes, which you will be able to find in 150, 1140, 921 Buildings, where students can leave suggestions about Berklee.

Please stop by the mez table this week to learn more about Student Government. If you are interested in being a part of the club, we meet every Monday night at 7 pm in the Loft!

Press Release Courtesy of N. Adam Owens
SGA President

The MassArt Activities Council will be hosting a “Bands for Cans” benefit concert to support the Greater Boston Food Bank.

The event, which will feature Black Kettle, Tin Soldier and Julia Easterlin, will also showcase MassArt student animations and films. The concert will take place Friday, November 20 from 8:30-11PM in the Pozen Center (621 Huntington Avenue, entrance on Tetlow St.).

Admission is $2 or a canned good and the event is open to the public!

By Jonathan Williams
Music Synthesis Ambassador, Berklee SGA

Jonathan Williams

There are a lot of exciting changes happening that make Synthesis at Berklee the best electronic music program in the world.

The most important change happening this year is the department’s new name, “Electronic Production and Design (ELPD)” which will take effect on January 1, 2010. This new name is a result of years of discourse and planning among the faculty, students and alumni. According to an official statement from Stephen Croes, the Dean of Music Technology, “The new name more accurately represents the department’s mission, curriculum and learning outcomes for students and graduates, while also providing strong support for professional trends in the music industry.” The new name and prefix will be used in the Spring 2010 registration manual and all classes that are prefixed “MSYN” will be “ELPD” so be sure and look out for this as you register for spring classes.

Stephen Croes, Dean of Music Technology

This semester, Synthesis students have access to a brand new ensemble room (A59) next to the Synthesis studios. Not only is great to have our own group performance space, but it also comes loaded will all sorts of geeky goodies! The room has a full electronic drum set, a wall-mounted plasma TV for those working with video composition tools like Jitter and Quartz Composer, quad speakers and several modular systems including a pair of ARP 2600 synthesizers. All connections into the sound system feed into Studio T, allowing students to record multi-track audio straight into ProTools. The ensemble room is available to all Synthesis students and may be booked in 3-hour blocks from the Synth Studio office in the 150 building

The SGA and Synthesis Department will be holding a town hall meeting on Thursday, November 19 to talk about these and other happenings in the major. More information about this meeting will be post here and on Campus Cruiser next month.

If you have any questions about anything Synth, feel free to contact me directly at jwilliams6@berklee.net.

By Nazer Lagrimas Jr.
SGA Film Scoring Ambassador

A common response I get when telling people that I’m a Film Scoring  major is, “Oh, you write background music,” but it’s definitely much  more than that.  Composing for film is more than writing catchy  melodies and lush, sometimes even disturbing harmonies, its about  working with your team to help tell a story.  Film Scoring at Berklee  is an entirely different animal from the rest of the school.  Writing scores, finding players for film sessions, creating and distributing  sheet music, editing audio, working with film directors, all for a one  minute cue can be a pretty hefty task, but fortunately the Film Scoring department at Berklee is fully equipped with faculty members  who are here to guide you along the way.

Faculty members of the Film Scoring Department have been working in the industry for years.  Department Chair Dan Carlin has an endless amount of connections in Los Angeles, and has a ton of insight in the industry.  The department has also been incredibly open when listening to the students desires.  Professor Sheldon Mirowitz shows movies every couple weeks, discussing not only the music of the film, but what was going on in the composers life at the time.  Recently they hired faculty member Michael Sweet who specializes in interactive audio and audio for video games.

The department supports two of the most active student clubs on campus, the Film Scoring Club, and the Video Game Music Club.  The Film Scoring Club, led by student Jason Parks, is the one place where student composers can get film scoring gigs in Boston.  They hold a strong standing connection with Emerson College, collaborating on
various projects week after week.  With the Berklee Learning Center, they also host the Film Music Networking Event, where students all across the Boston area can meet fellow film makers and composers.  The Video Game Music Club also meets every week, talking about everything gaming related.  Whether it be the challenges of interactive audio,
the music and sound of the most popular games, or networking with game developers in Boston, its the place where Berklee students can open up and express their opinions on this revolutionary industry.  The best part about these clubs is that they’re open to everyone, regardless of major, and you can learn a ton of valuable information.  More info on these clubs can be found on Campus Cruiser under Student Life  > All Clubs.
If you’re interested in Film Scoring, the Film Scoring Orientation is on Thursday November 5 from 6-8 in the Film Scoring Department.  Students can get an overview of the major, and ask questions to Film Scoring faculty members as well as upper semester students.  Being a Film Scoring major at Berklee has been an incredibly rewarding experience thus far, and as a huge fan of TV, video games, and film, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

By Nicholas Adam Owens
SGA President

What an exciting year we have ahead of us at Berklee! With all the advancement of student-run organizations around campus, it’s only appropriate that the SGA be a part of the action. This year we are striving to be a more connected, committed, and active organization than has ever been in years prior. Berklee students deserve to have a voice.

We, the Student Government, are committed to giving the student voice an amplifier to be heard by the administration and want every student to know that he or she can come to us with any and all issues regarding their Berklee experience. The mission statement of SGA states that the Berklee Student Government is to be the “leading force that reflects the collective voice of the student body.” The big red gear in our new logo is to show how we attempt to create change a Berklee by working with people, both students and staff.

We have a lot of events and action items planned for this coming year so be on the look out for the SGA logo around campus for more info on what we’re up to.

If you want your voice to be heard, come to one of our meetings at 7PM in The Loft above Café 939 every Monday night, or come visit us at our office hours Monday-Friday 1-2P.M. in the Student Activities Center.

I look forward to serving you all this year!

Nicholas Adam Owens
President, Berklee SGA

By Dan Thompson
Campus Planning Chair

Berklee’s SGA will be hosting the college’s first annual Green Week during the week of April 21-24. The week will include a number of environmentally focused events and is intended to focus the Berklee community on the environment for the week.  Throughout the week, Berklee students, faculty, and staff will be given opportunities to act against and learn about the climate crisis and how they can live their lives with more consciousness of the crisis in the future.

Open Forum on Berklee Greening:
What: A panel discussion during Berklee students, faculty, and staff to voice concerns, ideas, and questions about Berklee’s greening process.  The panel will consist of people integral in the progress thus far who will present and be open to listening and reacting to attendees.
When: April 22 1 P.M.-2 P.M.
Where: Steve Heck Room

Green Week Get Down:
What: A night of music celebrating the environment and raising consciousness of the ecological crisis.  The evening will include performances by Mark Simos, Keppie Coutts, and Tubby Love among others.  Free food will be provided.
When: April 24 8 P.M.-11 P.M.
Where: Café 939

Day of Service:
What: Two service projects for the Berklee community, family, and friends.  In the morning volunteers will be cleaning Mother’s Rest in the Fens.  After the clean-up the group will lunch and make signs for the recycling bins and trash cans to clearly denote what to put in each bin.  Lunch and supplies will all be provided.  Please come prepared for moderate labor.
When: April 25 9 P.M.-3 P.M.
Where: Mother’s Rest